Life preserver



Sept. 12, 1961 c. o. LANCIANO, JR., ET AL 2,999,255

LIFE PRESERVER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 27, 1958 ATTORNEY Sept. 12, 1961 c. o. LANCIANO, JR., ETAL 2,999,255

LIFE PRESERVER Filed Aug. 27, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENIPR C ZAA/c/ A/o, J.

BY A v, .74 A A/d/V/ fl y ATTORNEY sept- 1961 c. o. LANCIANO, JR, ETAL 2,999,255

LIFE PRESERVER Filed Aug. 27, 1958 3 Sheets$heet 3 .4 Z -L J T F iz-serzm:

ATTORNEY 2,999,255 LIFE PRESERVER Claude O. Lanciano, In, Coke, Va., and Peter J. Zannoni,

This invention relates to a life preserver device and has as its object to provide a life preserver so constructed as to be light in weight and of inherent buoyancy, to safely keep the wearer afloat with his head maintained in position, with his nose and mouth above water even if he loses consciousness. The device is well suited to meet the exacting demands of military and civilian uses. It is virtually foolproof, being conveniently carried in folded condition, may be readily attached to the users body, and is inflated through ordinary light breath pressure applied to a valve. The device is so constructed that even if the wearer is pitched into the water uncon scious, he will be buoyed and his head kept out of the water until help arrives. It is essentially puncture proof and is designed to replace bulky, cumbersome and less eflicient conventional devices intended for the purpose.

It will function with a minimum amount of air therein, providing buoyancy and unrestricted body movement with a minimum of discomfort to the wearer.

These and other advantages will become apparent from the description below and theaccompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters indicate similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partly fragmentary, partly sectional, plan view of a life preserver embodying the invention,

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof taken at line 2-2 of FIG. 1, partly broken'to disclose the interior construction,

"iFIG. 3'is an enlarged transverse, sectional view taken at line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG; ,4 is an enlarged transverse, sectional view taken atline4'-4ofFIG.l."

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, partly broken sectional view, taken at line 5-5 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the upper portion of another form of device embodying the invention,

FIG. 7 is a similar view of the lower portion thereof,

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, perspective view taken at line 8-8 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged transverse sectional View, taken at line 9-9 of FIG. 6,

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the lower portion of the device shown in FIG. 7,

FIG. 11 is a plan view of another form of the device embodying the invention, partly broken to reveal details of construction,

FIG. 12 is an enlarged transverse, sectional view thereof, taken at line 12-12 of FIG. 11,

FIG. 13 is a transverse, sectional view, taken at line 13-13 of FIG. 11,

FIG. 14 is an enlarged, fragmentary view, taken at lines 14-14 of FIG. 12, and

FIG. 15 is an enlarged, fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken at line 15-15 of FIG. 11.

As shown in the drawings, the device (FIG. 1) of this invention comprises an elongated air holding body portion 21, comprising front and rear panel members 22, 23, of generally rectangular outline secured together in air tight relation at the bottom and side marginal edges 24, and 2.6. A yoke member 27 defines a G-shaped flexible air compartment 28 which is inflatable and air tight marginally as indicated at 29, except at the lower portion 30 thereof, where it is in open communication with the body portion 21 so defined by the front and rear ,25 Patented Sept. 12, 1961 ice panel members. C-shaped yoke member 27 comprises a pair of parallel compartments opening into eachother, the rear compartment opening into the panel members at the bottom and the front yoke compartment member being otfset therefrom and opening rearwardly. The yoke 27 defines a unitary collar for the top of the body portion. Suitable means are connected to the device 20 to inflate the same, such as an air valve 31, flexibly connected as at 32 to the yoke 27 so as to be bendable substantially fiat thereon (FIG. 2) for insertion in a holder or clip 33 on the yoke member. The free end of valve 31 may be closed by a suitable cap member 34. The

device 20 may be made of any suitable flexible material,- such as waterproof fabrics, nylon coated with neoprene,-

or other plastic of flexible materials so as to be inherently buoyant with a minimum amount of entrapped air. Itj need not be fully inflated and, in point of fact, normallycontains some airsufiicient to make it buoyant for the intended purpose quite apart from any air blown there-- into by the user through free end of the valve 31. Means,

are provided for securing the device to the users bodyfor example, strap members 35, 36 which may be secured at spaced points to the rear body portion of the device to encircle the users body; means such as shown at 37- in FIG. 1 may be provided to secure such straps together around the persons body. The free ends 38, 39 of the C-shaped yoke member 27 may be fully or partially closed and may be secured to the user by means such as straps 40, 41 which may be secured to yoke member 27 and having complementary interlatching glove fastener or other means 42, 43. The device thus secured to the user will maintain him afloat until aid arrives even if he is unconscious when he hits the water or thereafter losesconsciousness. If the lower edge 24 of the body portion is torn by the users falling and striking a part of a ship,

for example, water at the lower end 24 of the body portion will force the air in body 21 upwardly therein without detracting from the desired buoyant properties thereof. One or more flexible members 44 (FIGS. 1, 3), may be secured to the'interior of the front and rear panel members 22, 23 by any suitable adhesive, heat sealing or other means to thereby stabilize the form of the body member and limit the degree of separation of the panel members 22, 23 in use. A plurality of such flexible members 4 may (FIGS. 1 and 3) be so securedto the interior of the front and rear panel members in parallel relation to the longitudinal axis of said panel members.

Said flexible connecting members preferably (FIG. 1)

terminate short of the bottom edges 24 of the front or rear panels.

As shown in the drawings, the flexible members 44 are normally expanded by expansion of member 21 and are compressible on application of force, then returning to normal expanded form. Said normally expanded members may be made of sponge or foam rubber or other material which is normally expansible and which is compressible in the form shown in FIG. 3, or may comprise springs 45' (FIG. 12) secured at their upper and lower edges to the front and rear panel members. Elongated strips of flexible material 45 may be secured to the front and rear panel members 22, 23 and may have glued or otherwise secured thereto flexible members 44 which are thus in turn secured to said panel members. Strap members 35, 36 to secure the body portion 21 of the device to the users body may be secured adjacent the marginal edges of panel members as shown in FIG. 1 or may be secured to the rear panel member inwardly thereof as shown at 46, 47 of FIGS. 7 and 8, wherein said straps are shown secured tospaced point of the rear of the body portion of the device by the strap holding means 46, 47 secured to said rear body portion, including the loops 48,

3 49 which may engage ends of a belt 35' or the like (FIG. encircled around the user's body.

The above mentioned flexible members 44 may be formed as elongated flexible strips, or a plurality thereof, secured to the interior of the front and rear panel members in spaced relation parallel to the longitudinal or transverse axes thereof and preferably terminating short of the marginal edge thereof.

The margin 29 of yoke 27 is sealed (FIG. 5) to the air compartment 23 to a point 29' (FIG. 1) which is in eifect a continuation of the upper wall 2% of said compartment 28; the latter forms essentially a collar to which a separate collar sheet 50 (FIGS. 1 and 4) may be secured to form a second C-shaped compartment 51 which may be closed or open at both ends 52, 53 (FIG. 1). This preferred construction enables adjustment of the collar 50 to the users neck, and makes the device more comfortable in the usual bobbing action encountered in water. A similar arrangement may be followed in the FIGS. 6 and 9 forms of device, wherein the strap 41 and its complementary fastener 42' are shown secured to the yoke 27.

The springs '45 (FIGS. 11-15) may be directly secured to the top and bottom panel members 22, 23 or may be secured to strips of flexible material 52 (FIG. 12) which in turn may be glued or otherwise secured to said panel members.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An inflatable life preserver device adapted to be secured to a persons body, for buoying purposes, comprising elongated front and rear panel members of generally rectangular outline secured together in airtight relation at the bottom and side marginal edges and open at the top thereof to thus define an elongated air holding body portion, a C-shaped flexible yoke member connected to the top of the panel members and defining an air compartment, said yoke member comprising a pair of parallel O-shaped air compartments in open communication with each other, one of said compartments being disposed on the panel members in open communication therewith and the other compartment being olfset therefrom and opening into the first mentioned said one of the g-shaped compartments, said yoke member defining a unitary collar for the top of the body portion, resilient means intermediate and separating the front and rear panel members, and means connected to said device to inflate the same.

2. An inflatable life preserver device adapted to be secured to a persons body, for buoying purposes, comprising elongated front and' rear panel members of generally rectangular outline secured together in air-tight relation at the bottom and side marginal edges and open at the top thereof to thus define an elongated air holding body portion, a yoke member connected to the top of the panel members as a continued planar extension thereof, said yoke member being C-shaped and inflatable and being airtight marginally except at the portion thereof opposite and remote from the ends thereof, and being in open communication, at said opposite and remote portion, with the air holding body portion so defined by said front and rear panel members, and defining a unitary collar for the top of said body portion, means connected to the said device to inflate the same, and members secured to the interior of and intermediate the front and rear panelmembers and normally expanded to maintain the form of the body portion and being compressible on application of force and then'returning to normal expanded form.

3. In aninflatable life preserver device, as set forth in claim 2, said compressible members being spring members.

'4. In an inflatable life preserver device as set forth in claim 2, a plurality of said compressible members secured to the interior of and intermediate the front and rear panel members in spaced parallel relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

